Just A Spot of Rain
by IcamaneHatake
Summary: In which Cedric tries to hide an obvious crush, Jennifer is as oblivious as ever, and the weather is decidedly damp during a game of Quidditch. Set in PoA. A fluffy oneshot in connection to ATSOHP and TLF.


**This oneshot is connected to my two larger fanfics, _As The Sister of Harry Potter_ and _The Last Fight_. You can read them on here. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **October, 1992**

"PEEVES! GIVE IT BACK GOD DAMN IT!"

"Ooooh, Ickle Pottie is getting gruuuuummmmmpy!" Peeves taunted me, dangling my Potions text book over my head just out of my reach, jerking it upwards when I jumped for it.

"I'm late, you jerk!"

"Delightful!"

Peeves started zooming away, and I turned sharply around to follow him.

"OW!"

"Augh!"

I ran into someone who was nearly my height, our foreheads smacking together, books scattering, and a bottle of ink upset itself all over our uniforms. Above us, Peeves started howling in laughter, and people around us gave us wide birth, not wanting to be caught up in any of his shenanigans.

"I'll have you for this, Peeves! _Incendio!_ "

A jet of fire shot out of my wand, not really harming Peeves, but startling him enough that he dropped the book onto my companion's head and zoomed away, shrieking about lunatic Gryffindors.

"Miss Potter."

That voice made my spine shiver, and I turned to see Snape standing not far behind me in the nearly empty corridor.

"I believe by now you know the rules concerning magic in the hallways between classes?" he asked, his voice a deadly whisper.

"Yes, sir." My teeth were gritted, and I felt the ink slowly soaking through my sweater and into my shirt.

"And what might that rule be?" His cold, dark eyes were trying to bore into mine, and I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck.

"That we're not allowed to use magic in between classes." I was trying not to snarl, as that would surely earn me detention if I weren't already going to get it.

"Professor Snape, she was provoked, Peeves—"

"I didn't ask for your opinion on the rules, Mr. Diggory," Snape said, and I suddenly realized that it was Cedric I had run into. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Miss Potter, and if I catch you doing magic in the corridors again, you won't be playing Quidditch for much longer." I wanted to argue so badly, but I knew better. I bit my tongue. "And five points from Hufflepuff, Mr. Diggory, for your cheek. Now clean up this mess," he said, and he swept off, his smugness practically radiating off of him.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled, looking at the mess I had caused. Well, Peeves had caused most of it. But I hadn't helped.

"No worries, I guess I hadn't properly closed my ink before I left for class," Cedric said, shaking his head. I tried not to focus on his face, angular jawline and kind eyes that made my stomach twist in unpleasant ways. I was not allowed to have feelings, especially when they were stupid and about some boy who was not only my Quidditch rival, but taken. He glanced around to make sure Snape was gone before he pulled out his wand. "Want me to clean you off?" he offered once he had siphoned the ink out of his clothes.

"Sure," I said, holding still so he could perform the charm. My uniform was clean in no time, and we both scrambled up our books. I started stacking mine together.

"Hold on, I think this is your copy of _Advanced Transfiguration_ ," Cedric said, handing me the huge tome.

"Thanks."

"I'll see you in class," he said, waiving, and we parted ways.

* * *

It was a relatively quiet night in the common room. I was struggling through a Transfiguration essay, because I knew that I wouldn't be working on it this weekend. I knew myself well enough now to know that after Quidditch matches, no matter which way they went, I wouldn't work. I would either be busy moping, celebrating, or healing in the Hospital Wing. And with the way the weather was looking for tomorrow, I had no idea how it was going to go. So I was set up at a table in a corner, my stacks of books from earlier this morning spread around me, along with some others that I had borrowed from the Library. My foot long essay was stretched out in front of me, and I was paused, trying to think of the right words. Was I even talking about the right thing? We hadn't been Vanishing anything terribly complicated this week. _Vanishing things go…_ where? I had no idea. I'd need a book for this.

"What's this?"

I looked up to see Fred standing over me, already reaching for a small book on top of my Charms book that I hadn't given much thought to earlier.

"I dunno, I've had it all day," I said, frowning. I was starting to get an idea about where that was from. "Give it back."

"Not a chance," Fred said, jerking away from me when I lunged at him. "Let's see, shall we?"

"Fred," I warned, standing.

"Ooh! _Property of Cedric Amos Diggory_ ," Fred recited, gleeful.

"What?" George and I said, and Fred threw the book back to his twin before I could even react. "Diggory has a _diary?_ "

"George, _don't_ ," I said, trying to get at him to yank the book away, but Fred blocked me and held me back.

"Ooh, let's give this a read," George said, clearing his throat dramatically.

"Pick a good one," Fred said, struggling to keep me in place.

" _November 6, 1991,_ " George started, doing a terribly mocking impression of Cedric, " _I saw Jennifer today, I'm guessing she—"_

" _Expelliarmus!_ "

I had whipped out my wand and the journal flew out of George's hands and I snatched it out of the air. "I'm giving this _back_ ," I demanded, wrestling myself away from Fred and shoving the journal down the front of my sweater.

"Why? Is he your _boyfriend?_ " Fred mocked, laughing.

"No!" I insisted, my face starting to grow red. I hated when they did this.

"Oh come on, Jen, why are you defending him?" George chortled.

"Because I'm not rude like you two," I snapped, and I left, leaving my homework on the table and the twins to their own idiocy. "Gah, Weasleys," I muttered to myself once I was in the corridor. They acted like the worst sort of brothers some times. I pulled the journal out from my sweater and held it in as I walked. Technically, I was allowed out past ten, as I was a fifth year. But I was sure that Snape would descend upon me if I wasn't quick enough, and burden me detention for a month. I hurried the best way I knew down to the ground floor and then towards the kitchens. That was the closest I knew to where the Hufflepuff common room was.

I saw a boy walking opposite me wearing Hufflepuff robes, and I stopped him.

"Um, sorry, but is the Hufflepuff common room down that way?" I asked him, pointing down the corridor he had just come from.

"Yeah?" he answered, inspecting my robes with suspicion. "What about it?"

"I just… I'm looking for Cedric Diggory. I accidentally ended up with a book of his and I'd like to return it," I said, holding up the journal briefly.

"Oh, alright. He's in there, I'll go fetch him for you," the boy said, and he backtracked down the corridor.

I leaned against the wall while I waited, temptation burning its way through me. I had the journal in my hand… no one was around to see me… surely it wouldn't hurt to take a peak? He had mentioned me, after all. I wondered what Cedric Diggory could possibly have to say about me? I didn't even think he knew I existed, really. I honestly hadn't noticed him much until he became Quidditch captain of Hufflepuff, and then I _had_ to pay attention. We had a few classes together, but that was it. So what was he doing writing about me?

Before I could get up the nerve to take a look, Cedric came walking up the corridor, his expression curious. "Jennifer? Smith said you had something of mine."

"Yeah, uh, I think this accidentally ended up with me when we bumped into each other earlier," I said, holding out his journal to him. The relief that washed over his face was unlike any I'd ever seen, preceded by panic and followed by anxiety. "I didn't look at it," I said quickly, trying to reassure him. "I just saw the name on the inside and left to return it."

He let out a huge sigh. "Thank you, I… I've been a bit frantic, looking for this all day. Thank you."

"Not a problem." I turned to leave, and he said, "Hey, uh, good luck tomorrow."

I stopped and turned. "What?"

"Good luck. With the match tomorrow," he clarified. I could swear that his cheeks were turning pink.

"Um, hate to break it to you, but we're playing each other tomorrow," I said, an eyebrow raised. "Isn't wishing me good luck a bit counter-productive?"

"I know. I mean… I don't think it is. It looks like the weather's gonna be rough, so I think all of us will need a good deal of luck just to stay on our brooms."

I snorted. "Okay. Thanks then, I guess. And… you too?"

He smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you on the pitch, then."

"Yeah. See you."

* * *

The gale the next morning was insane. The wind was howling outside of the castle walls, rain hammering the windows like bullets. I sat in the Great Hall with the rest of my teammates, not touching a thing on my plate. Fred and George weren't eating much either. Angelina and Katie were both attempting to look chipper, but cast worrying looks up at the blackened ceiling. Oliver was hissing a non-stop stream of advice to Harry, who seemed overwhelmed. Oliver had been particularly concerned since Slytherin had switched games with Hufflepuff, and had been running us through tactics and strategies non-stop. Sure, we only had two weeks to rethink our Slytherin plan to play Hufflepuff, and granted, Cedric was a new Captain and we knew that he had been training his team hard. But honestly, Oliver was over-reacting a bit. We had a solid team, and we could fly in this. If nothing, it was a handicap on both teams.

"Come on team, let's go," Oliver said when he saw Cedric enter the Hall and sit down at the Hufflepuff table. We contained our grumbles as we followed him down to the pitch. The wind nearly blew us all over when we stepped out of the castle, and we all ducked our heads and followed Oliver towards the Pitch. Surely they would cancel if the weather got much worse? Then again, I'd never heard of a game being canceled by silly things like, "Too much wind," or, "The players need sleep."

Oliver talked us through his boards again after we had changed. I wrung my school robes out and added to the growing puddle on the floor. God this match was going to be a nightmare.

"Okay, just... Fly like hell, and we'll be good," Oliver concluded, and we all nodded. I took a deep breath as we walked out of the locker room, brooms in hand. My Cleansweep was newer than the twins, but I was still nervous about it. It hadn't flown through weather this bad before.

Outside, I couldn't hear the crowd. The wind was howling so badly that their cheers were completely drowned out. The Hufflepuff team staggered onto the field opposite us, and we all met Madame Hooch in the middle. Cedric gave Oliver a friendly smile when they shook hands, one I was sure Oliver didn't return. I just mounted my broom, the mud trying to eat my feet, soaking into my broken trainers. My feet were going to freeze in a minute or two.

I barely heard Madame Hooch's whistle blow. I kicked off and knocked one of the Hufflepuff Chasers to the side so Angelina could get the Quaffle. I was nearly blown off course, but I managed to get my broom pointed right and I shot down the field after her and Katie. I lagged behind them, but I made sure to position myself annoyingly so that the other Chaser who was on our tail couldn't go after the Quaffle. Suddenly, a black ball came out of nowhere, and I barely managed to roll out of the way of the Bludger. I saw Katie toss the Quaffle through a hoop at the Hufflepuff end, and I think I heard the crowd screaming, though that could have just been the wind. It was nearly impossible to see or hear anything in this storm.

Ten minutes in, we had only scored once more, while Hufflepuff had gained by thirty points. Whatever training Cedric had them doing was apparently really effective. I heard a faint whistle and looked down to see Oliver flying down to Madame Hooch. I headed down too, relieved for the break. The Gryffindor team landed hard, splattering mud everywhere. I was going to take the hottest bath after this.

"We're down by thirty, and it doesn't look like the rain is going to let up," Wood shouted. "Harry, an early catch wouldn't hurt!"

"That would be great," Harry yelled back, voice dripping in sarcasm, "if I could see the Snitch, let alone where I'm flying!"

"Harry! Try this!" Hermione was rushing up to him, her hair and clothes soaked. She grabbed his glasses, tapped them with her wand, and said, " _Impervious!"_

Wood grinned. "Let's all do that!" He pulled out his wand and did the charm on his own face. The rest of the team followed suit, and I had to admit, it was an improvement. Rain bounced off of my face now, and my vision was slightly clearer. "Okay team, let's play!"

We were off again, and with renewed confidence. I managed to steal away the Quaffle and tore down the pitch, dodging two Bludgers, a Hufflepuff Beater, and two opposing Chasers. I didn't see Katie or Angelina anywhere near me, but there was a Chaser coming after me from underneath, forcing me to fly higher. I was far higher than I wanted, and I looked for a move to make that would dart me down closer to the goal hoops. I glimpsed some Weasley red hair below me, and I saw an opening.

Something struck me so cold to the bone that I didn't dive. I looked around, trying to figure out the source of the freezing. Then I heard screaming in my ears, and I clamped a hand to my head, trying to shut it out, but then a voice was there, clear through the gale.

" _Lily, take the kids and run! I'll hold him off!"_

* * *

The first thing that I notice when I wake up is how much everything in my body hurts, but especially my back and my left shoulder. I groaned. What the hell had happened? I must be in the Hospital Wing, and after opening my eyes a bit, my suspicions were confirmed. Even with my vision this blurry, I knew the ceiling of the Hospital Wing almost as well as I knew the canopy of my four-poster.

"Um, Jennifer? Are you awake?"

The voice was unfamiliar, and I blinked a few times to try and get my vision to clear up. It was dark. How long had I been here? I tried to sit up, but a well-meaning hand pressed on my left shoulder to stop me, and I yelped.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know which was your bad shoulder."

I finally managed to place the voice. "Cedric, is that you?"

"Er, yeah."

His face was mostly hidden in shadow, but I could tell he was worried now that my eyes had finally decided to work. "Why are you here? What time is it?"

"It's nearly nine, I think," he said, glancing down at his wristwatch. "Madame Pomfrey is getting food. She wasn't here when I got here, anyways." He hesitated, dropping his gaze to look at my bedspread instead of my face. "I, um, came to see if you and Harry were okay."

I felt all the color drain from my face. "Harry? What happened?"

"You… you don't remember?"

"I remember—" Cold. Depression. Anxiety. My father's voice. Lips trembling, I asked, "Were… were there Dementors?"

I saw him nod. "They must have been drawn to the excitement of the match. I… you and Harry, you both fainted… I saw you fall, one of the Twins was below you. He tried to break your fall, but you were going too fast…" He shifted in his seat next to me. "They said he dislocated your shoulder, then you were on the ground… Dumbledore was furious, I've never seen him so angry. He drove the Dementors off and then brought you and Harry up to the castle."

The news was hardly surprising, and suddenly my injuries made sense. But still… no one _else_ fainted around Dementors…

"What about the match?" I asked, dreading the answer.

"I-I'm sorry," he immediately blurted out. "I didn't see you or Harry drop off your brooms until I had caught the Snitch. I've asked Oliver for a rematch but he won't listen to me. It's entirely unfair, the storm was so terrible and then the Dementors—"

"If Oliver's admitted defeat, then you won fair and square," I said, sighing.

"No, we didn't."

" _Yes_ , you did." I rolled my eyes. "Don't make me hex you. Just because I'm bedridden—"

"Trust me, I know not to cross you." He chuckled. "But, er, how are you feeling? I know Pomfrey's healed you, but… you were so high, that was a terrible distance to fall…"

"Um." I blushed, so thankful that it was dark. Why did he care? "My back and shoulder ache like hell, but that's it." I cleared my throat. "H-how's Harry?"

"I've heard he's okay. He's asleep, so I couldn't ask him. But he looks okay." Cedric motioned over my head, and I turned to see Harry sleeping two beds away from me, frowning in his sleep, a few small cuts on his face, but otherwise unharmed. "Jennifer?"

"Hmm?" I turned my head back to him.

"Do you know why the Dementors affect you and Harry so much?" There were a few moments of tense silence while I tried to decide if I wanted to answer. "Sorry, that was so personal. You don't have to answer that. I was just curious."

"Erm, well…" I cleared my throat again. "Dementors make you feel like crap, right? Make you relive your worst moments." I thought I saw some realization dawn over Cedric's face, but I kept going. "Harry and I, um, hear our parents getting murdered."

Saying it out loud solidified it in a way I wish I could take back. I blinked furiously, not allowing the tears in my eyes to run free. The last thing I ever wanted was for Cedric Diggory to see me cry.

"I'm so sorry. That's horrible." It sounded like there was genuine sorrow in his voice.

"It's… it is what it is." I tried to shrug, but I only winced at the pain in my shoulder.

There were another couple moments of silence before Cedric spoke again. "I should go. You need rest." He stood up, checking his watch again. "I'll see you tomorrow, I imagine. I hope you and Harry both feel better tomorrow."

"Yeah. Um, thanks. I'll… see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

He walked towards the windows that looked out into the corridor, his shadow slipping out the door and away to his common room. I lay there for quite some time, trying to decode all of his possible intentions. I finally fell asleep with the firm thought in my mind that Cedric was just being friendly, and fair, and that's all he would ever be.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading! Drop me a review to let me know what you think.**


End file.
